I found an audio editing/recording program called WavePad about a month ago on CNET downloads and while it says its got a free trial and that the licence is $38 when you instal it it is completely free. Very odd to say the least but thats what happens. One suggestion if you pick up a copy,,,,during the installation you will be asked if you want to instal any other programs (a CD burner etc). Be sure to untick them all as installing them will install regulare trial versions of those additional programs.

A few features are not available that are available in the full version (WavePad Masters Edition available at the publishers website - link p[rovided from withing the free version) but generally they will not be missed.

This is one of the nicest and well thought out audio editing and recording programs that I have found yet. I was looking for a simple inexpensive program for a friend (I use Sony SoundForge myself) and I looked at a lot of different free and shareware programs and this one is a gem. Head and shoulders above everything out there in its class (well, at least the ones I looked at anyway). Very efficient and easy for someone new to audio editing to learn. I just checked and the download still installs the free version.

bgoodman4, thank you for the link! According to this NCH Software's FAQ, the program is indeed free, in the hopes that one likes it and upgrades to the Masters edition. Here's their WavePad Sound Editor page.

bgoodman4, thank you for the link! According to this NCH Software's FAQ, the program is indeed free, in the hopes that one likes it and upgrades to the Masters edition. Here's their WavePad Sound Editor page.

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You are welcome.

Oddly enough I had tried to download and install the so called free version from their website and it installed as with a 30 day trial. I did not want the Masters version for my friend so I went back to CNET and downloaded the older program and was pleasantly surprised when it installed as freeware. Strange but true.

Have you tried installing the so called free version from their website. Maybe they fixed things since I tried it about a month ago. The only place I could find on the publishers website to download the free version was not on the product page as indicated in the FAQ but at the bottom of the relevant FAQ itself, and this installed (as I already indicated) as a trial, not free for life.

Have you tried installing the so called free version from their website.

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bgoodman4, yes I did but I also uninstalled it as soon as I saw what it did. Although the WavePad Sound Editor page says that the wpsetup.exe file download is a small 423 KB (actually 460 KB), it asked to connect to the Internet, via my Zone Alarm firewall, and its size became 2.81 MB after installation (verified by Revo Unistaller), even though I unchecked every component item listed during installation.

Yes, the software did say it was a "Unlicensed Basic Free Version"

The Editor added 3 entries to the Start Menu and a Favorites bookmark entry to Internet Explorer:

Each entry has a slew of options (here's the NCH Software Suite entry):

But when you clicked on any of them, you would get this:

To their credit, I uninstalled the program using Revo in Advanced mode, and there were only 3 Registry entries, plus no files and/or folders left behind. I should mention that I use the Audacity portable version and of course, I like that a lot because it doesn't require any installation. I want to keep my PC as clean as possible and I hate it when a program adds more junk than what it says. Just my opinion. Otherwise, for someone else, seems to be a good program.

It should be noted that the installation files for WavePad Sound Editor and WinPatrol have identical names: wpsetup.exe. People with both programs who store copies of their installers in the same folder might inadvertently overwrite an existing (and very different) file if they're not careful.

Some interesting free programs that I had not come across before. Thanks for the links. I however feel that the free WavePad I found is perfect for my friend and I find I am even using it for simple things rather than using SoundForge. If the job is more complex then I use SoundForge.

I had looked at Audacity and found I felt more comfortable using SoundForge so i bought a licence. Maybe its the way my mind works but SoundForge just seemed more intuitive to me which is not to take anything away from Audacity. Given what its capable of, and its price, its real hard to beat but there is a steeper learning curve with it than I found with SoundForge. WavePads learning curve is very shallow in my opinion.

As to the extra entries in the Start/Programs menu once I saw what they were I simply deleted the entries. Yes there is a small file somewhere on my PC that if run will let me go to the publishers site and download more programs but I don't see that as a big deal. If it sits quietly and does nothing its not a problem, but of course thats just my opinion, I would rather this than get e-mails from the company pushing product on me although a filter on the e-mail address would deal with this as easily.